The Catalan donkey originates in the basins of the Cardener, Segre and Ter rivers.[1] In the past it was very important on farms but due to declining use and numbers the Catalan donkey was in danger of extinction. There were once as many as 50,000.[citation needed]

A herd-book was established in 1929. Numbers fell during the Spanish Civil War, but recovered in the next decade. In the 1960s and 1970s rural depopulation and the mechanisation of agriculture led to a new decline in numbers. A breeders' association, the Associació pel Foment de la Raça Asinina Catalana, was formed in 1978 and the herd-book re-opened.[3] Much of the credit for the recovery of the breed is given to one person, Joan Gassó i Salvans from the comarca of Berguedà.[4] In 2004, 32% of the registered population of 336 were on his finca in Olvan.[3] An official national genealogical herd-book was opened in 2002. At the end of 2013 the total population in Spain was recorded as 851.[5] The Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, the Spanish ministry of agriculture, lists the breed as "in danger of extinction".[1]

The Catalan donkey has been used to improve donkey breeds elsewhere in the world, including France and North America.[6][2]